The wind was calm — deceptively calm — as the Oro Jackson sailed across the sun-dappled waters of Paradise. The legendary ship, once known as the vessel of the Pirate King, now carried a new flag.
A skull with a silver crescent moon encircled in the background and a sword and pistol forming an X in the bottom, stitched against black sails that shimmered faintly like the night sky itself.
And beneath that emblem, painted boldly across the main sail.
NYX D. ADA
It was a name that had begun to ripple through the world's rumor networks — whispered among pirates, feared in Marine halls, and debated in the smoky back rooms of the underworld.
One of the Pirate King's crew had returned to sea… and this time, she wasn't following anyone.
———————
The deck was quiet except for the hum of the sea. Mihawk leaned casually against the railing, his black coat rippling in the wind. His eyes, sharp as his namesake, followed Ada as she sat cross-legged on a crate, scanning through the latest stack of newspapers delivered by the News Coo.
He finally broke the silence.
"You've been reading the same papers for an hour. Find anything that interests you?"
Ada didn't answer immediately. She turned a page, her eyes stopping on a familiar name — Douglas Bullet — and the corner of her mouth lifted.
"Maybe."
Mihawk raised an eyebrow.
"We're still only two people, Ada. Are you planning to start a war with that?"
She tossed the paper toward him. It fluttered through the air and landed perfectly at his feet.
"I'm not starting a war. I'm building a future."
Mihawk glanced down.
On the front page, a headline read:
"THE DEMON HEIR RETURNS — DOUGLAS BULLET WREAKS HAVOC IN PARADISE."
The image showed a man surrounded by smoke and fire, crushing Marine ships with bare fists.
Mihawk let out a low whistle.
Mihawk tilted his head, intrigued.
"The Demon Heir," he said, recalling the name. "I've heard of him. A monster without restraint, who lives only to fight. He destroyed a Marine fortress last week, didn't he?"
Ada folded the paper, tossing it toward him. It slid perfectly to his boots.
"Two fortresses," she corrected. "And now there's a bounty on him high enough to make even the World Government nervous."
He looked back up, meeting Ada's steady gaze.
"You think someone like that would follow you?"
Ada's crimson eyes glinted beneath her hood.
"I don't need followers. I need believers — people who can see beyond chaos. Bullet isn't loyal to anyone, but he understands power. That's something I can use."
Mihawk folded his arms.
"Do you even know where to find him?"
Ada rose smoothly to her feet, her coat brushing the deck.
"Galzburg Island. Paradise. He was last seen tearing down a Marine base there three days ago."
"Three days?" Mihawk's tone turned skeptical. "Then the Marines are probably already swarming that island."
"Exactly," Ada replied. "Which means he's still fighting."
Mihawk raised a brow. "And you plan to go toward that?"
Her lips curved into a small, cold smile.
"I've been in worse storms."
She turned her gaze toward the open sea.
"And if we want him alive, we'll have to move fast."
——————
The Oro Jackson — reborn under Nyx's name — creaked as its sails caught the wind.
The sea stretched ahead, deep blue under a cloud-streaked sky.
Mihawk tightened the ropes and stepped beside Ada.
"You realize this could be suicide," he said matter-of-factly. "A Marine Buster Call isn't something even legends walk away from easily."
Ada's response was calm, unwavering.
"Legends fall because they fear the sea's judgment. I don't."
A thin smile touched her lips.
"Besides, we're not going there to fight — unless they make us."
Mihawk's smirk matched hers.
"They always make us."
Ada gave a low chuckle — quiet, sharp, and certain.
"Then they'll learn why the night never dies."
———————
Galzburg Island
Hours later, smoke began to rise over the horizon. The sky turned red with fire and ash.
The sound of cannon fire rolled across the sea like thunder.
The sea boiled with fire and thunder as Galzburg Island came into view — a smoldering wound in the ocean.
The sky above it was filled with black smoke, flashes of cannon fire, and the echoing roars of combat.
From the Oro Jackson's deck, Mihawk squinted. "That's not a battle," he muttered. "That's annihilation."
Ada's eyes flicked toward the inferno. "A Buster Call."
Mihawk then narrowed his eyes.
"Looks like you were right. The Marines called a Buster Call."
Ten Marine battleships surrounded the island, their cannons spitting fire. The coastline was already gone — swallowed by magma, explosions, and the screams of dying men.
And in the center of it all — a single man stood.
His muscles rippled under shredded armor, his fists coated in Haki.
Each punch he threw shattered cannonballs midair, the shockwaves tearing trees out by their roots. Around him, the ground itself cracked from his Haki.
Douglas Bullet.
The sea itself seemed to recoil from his power.
But he wasn't alone. Another figure faced him across the battlefield — a Marine officer with molten magma dripping from his fists, his face twisted with fury.
Vice Admiral Sakazuki.
Even from afar, Ada could feel the pressure of their clash.
"Magma," she muttered. "So the Navy sent him."
Mihawk turned his head slightly. "You know Sakazuki?"
"We've crossed paths," Ada said, her tone sharp. "Years ago. Back when he was still trying to prove himself. Even then, he reeked of justice twisted too tight."
Her eyes narrowed, glinting gold beneath the haze. "I've read his reports since then. He's climbed fast."
Mihawk's expression didn't change, but his voice carried a trace of amusement. "And now you want to walk right into his Buster Call."
Ada smirked faintly. "Wouldn't be the first time."
Mihawk's sharp eyes studied the chaos below.
"This isn't a fight — it's a storm. And you're sailing right into it."
Ada's expression didn't waver.
"Then we'll be the lightning that strikes through."
——————
As the Oro Jackson approached the burning horizon, a Marine lookout on one of the battleships froze mid-scan.
He raised his spyglass — then dropped it, face turning white.
"S-sir!" he shouted. "Unidentified ship approaching at high speed! It's—"
The officer snatched the spyglass and froze.
For a moment, the entire bridge went silent.
"That… that's—"
The captain's eyes widened. "Impossible. That's the Oro Jackson!"
"Impossible! Roger's crew disbanded!"
Gasps spread through the deck.
Through the smoke, the unmistakable silhouette of the Oro Jackson appeared — the legendary ship of the Pirate King.
But its sails were not gold.
They were black and silver, bearing a new emblem — the a skull with a crescent moon of Nyx.
And beneath that emblem, a name painted in clean, bold strokes:
"NYX D. ADA."
A stunned Marine dropped his rifle.
A younger Marine trembled. "But that ship— it belonged to the Pirate King!"
The captain hesitated. "Then— then who the hell—"
The lookout stammered, "T-the flag's different, sir! Black and silver… a skull with a moon — and a name! NYX D. ADA!"
The silence that followed was heavy and terrified.
Every Marine knew that name.
One of the highest bounties in the world.
Former member of the Pirate King's crew.
The woman who once stood beside Roger, and before that— the vice captain of Rocks.
The captain's face drained of color.
"She's back… and she's using that ship?!"
"Sound the alarm!" another officer shouted. "All ships — prepare for confrontation!"
The air filled with shouts, orders, and panic. Cannons turned toward the approaching vessel.
—————-
The Oro Jackson glided through the smoke like a phantom.
Its sails glimmered faintly with silver threads, catching the firelight of burning ships.
Ada stood at the bow, her coat whipping around her, eyes cold as the abyss. Mihawk was beside her, one hand resting casually on Yoru's hilt.
As they broke through the last wall of smoke, even the battlefield seemed to pause.
Marines froze. The sound of cannon fire faltered. Even Bullet and Sakazuki turned toward the sea.
From afar, Douglas Bullet and Sakazuki both paused mid-clash.
The sky split with lightning, and through the smoke, they saw the approaching ship.
Bullet's eyes narrowed, his grin widening in surprise.
"That ship… hah! The Pirate King's crew?"
Sakazuki's jaw clenched, magma bubbling at his fists.
"Damn pirates! You'll burn with the rest of them!"
Ada's voice carried across the water, steady and cutting through the chaos like a bell.
"Still preaching justice with fire, Vice Admiral Sakazuki?" she called. "Some things never change."
His head snapped up, eyes narrowing. "You… Nyx D. Ada."
He remembered her face — from wanted posters, from the Marine archives, from whispered warnings among the older officers.
A woman who had once stood beside the Pirate King himself.
And now, she stood before him, alive and unshaken.
The Marine forces went silent. She knew his name.
Mihawk leaned slightly toward her, voice low. "He knows you."
"Of course he does," Ada said without pride, just fact. "The Marines never forget the ones they fear."
He smirked faintly. "You really plan to step into this battlefield? Two against a Buster Call?"
Her lips curved. "You're counting wrong. There's one more waiting to be found."
She nodded toward the island — toward the mountain of muscle and fury that was Douglas Bullet, roaring against the Navy's might.
"He's our invitation to chaos."
Mihawk gave a short chuckle, drawing his sword in a smooth motion.
"Then I suppose I'll make the introductions."
The Marines opened fire — hundreds of cannons thundering at once.
But before the first shell could land, Ada raised her hand. A burst of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward like a black storm, ripping through the air.
The cannonballs halted mid-flight — then shattered into dust.
Marines collapsed by the dozens, eyes rolling back. The air itself seemed to bend around her.
Mihawk's coat flared as the ship sailed straight through the falling debris, unscathed.
"Impressive," he said lightly. "No wonder they called you Roger's shadow."
Ada's crimson eyes gleamed like the moon breaking through cloud.
"We came to find a man worth challenging the world for."
She looked ahead, at Bullet's raging figure in the heart of fire and war.
"And it seems we've found him."
——————
From the Marine lines, panic turned to horror.
"She stopped the entire volley— with Haki!"
"It's her— Nyx D. Ada! The woman who stood beside Roger!"
"Call for reinforcements! She's as dangerous as an Admiral!"
But the calls didn't matter.
The Oro Jackson had already cut through the blockade, gliding toward the island's shore.
Sakazuki snarled, magma surging. "Nyx D. Ada! You'll die here!"
Ada's eyes met his across the flames — calm, sharp, unflinching.
"We'll see who burns."
—————
As the ship's keel scraped the blackened sand, Ada stepped down first, the ground trembling under her boots.
Ahead of her, Douglas Bullet stood amid smoke and wreckage, breathing hard but still laughing.
When he saw her, the laughter stopped.
For a moment, even he looked unsure.
"Nyx D. Ada…" he said slowly, the name rolling off his tongue like a challenge. "Didn't think one of the Pirate King's remenants still walked the earth."
Ada's crimson eyes glimmered through the haze.
"Roger is gone," she said softly. "But the sea isn't done with us yet."
Bullet grinned, teeth sharp. "Heh. You came here to fight me?"
"Maybe," Ada replied. "Or maybe I came to recruit you."
Bullet blinked. Then his grin widened into something feral. "Recruit, huh? You've got guts, lady."
Mihawk stepped beside her, his blade catching the firelight.
"She has more than that," he said calmly. "She has a dream."
Bullet laughed again — low, rough, and dangerous.
"Then let's see if your dream can survive my fist."
As the ground trembled beneath the rising storm, the Marines could only watch in disbelief.
The Crimson Shadow, the Demon Heir, and the future world's greatest swordsman — all standing on one island.
And above them, a new flag fluttered — black and silver, bearing the name that would soon echo across every sea.
Nyx D. Ada.
The Crimson Shadow had returned.